Shadows of the Past
by Twin-Insanity
Summary: An ancient evil from before Christ appears on the streets of Yusuke's hometown, killing off any Reikai Tentai that come after it. Fortunately, Hiei knows of this threat and how to render it useless. Bad news, he might lose his humanity in the process.
1. Enter Darkness

Hey readers, this is AbhorsenSabriel87 again. I know you people are starting to hate my works, but this one is going to be almost AN Section free, and it'll be a little more dark than a few of my fics. Please be warned, the OC within this story is being borrowed from my friend Trenity170, but the story is pretty much her and me gabbing on the phone for hours on end.

Now, just so you all know, I don't own any songs by the band Carbon Leaf. I also don't own any Yu Yu Hakusho characters (duh) or else I would be a old, rich, Japanese guy writing these stories for profit and not a pretty, young, Irish American girl writing these fan fics for the fun of it with no reward other than your reviews. So please, review, but most importantly, enjoy.  
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Chapter 1: Enter Darkness  
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_"And I've been here since I was I boy, the sky unwrapped the world my toy... A movie reel a million miles long... on and on... Scene after scene passes by my life: the window's a wound, the road is a knife... The irony he asked me, "'Where have you been?'" I don't know, I don't know because I don't know where to begin."_ The song blared tragically in Yusuke's ears as he ran through the streets of his hometown, breathing hard. He had started running at night to increase his speed and stamina after an almost humiliating defeat via his long time teacher Genkai. Old as she was, the hag had a lot of strength and speed. It didn't really help that she was so much shorter than him either; it made her harder to hit. So, he decided to start training outside her temple in whatever ways he could... in this case, running across town from Kurama's house (where he studied with his thief friend) to his own.

_"Too much to do, too much to see... Pictures to take, people to meet... When there's so much space in between... it overwhelms me... Scene after scene passes by my life: the window's a wound, the road is a knife... The irony he asked me, "'Where have you been?'" I don't know, I don't know because I don't know where to begin."_ As of late, he had acquired a taste for American music as he ran, this band being known as Carbon Leaf, from Washington State. He didn't really care about where they were from; he just liked the music, and it helped him improve his English, something he'd tried learn since their devastating mission in Chicago over a year ago... He shook his head to clear the thoughts and resumed listening to the mildly depressing song on his CD player, his long and well-toned legs moving swiftly down the empty road. Most of the lights had either been burned out for months or been painted out by vandals, but he didn't really notice; he knew these streets like the back of his hand, so to speak. At almost two in the morning, he was about to pass the streets that led from his best friend Kuwabara's house to his own.

_"And I've been here since I was a boy... now a heart full of fear and a mask of painted joy... So much for these youthful eyes to see... so much for peace and tranquility... One prairie outpost you are how I feel... Alone in a flatland 'tween the dream and the real... The irony he asked me, "'Where have you been?'" I don't know, I don't know because I don't know where to begin."_ As his song ended and started switching to the next track, he slowed and turned off the music for a bit to enjoy the silence of the night. As far as he knew, silence was a bit of a blessing every once in a while in the city. He shouldn't spend it listening to music. That's when he heard it; voices from the alley two blocks down, in confrontation. Not being one to miss a fight, but also not one to senselessly intrude in another man's fight, he crept up quietly on the alley and looked around the corner with his back against the wall so not to be seen.

"Give it up," a young man said coldly to a shadow, his bokutai drawn and steady. He seemed only a few years older than Yusuke, twenty to twenty-five at best, and had an accent on the words he spoke, almost British but not quite. "I'm an Underworld Agent, and Lord Enma Jr. demands to have an audience with you." A harsh chuckle comes from the darkness of the building shading the unknown other from view, and a voice even darker replied, "What if I don't want to come? Will you actually kill her? An innocent? I thought you Reikai Tentai were profusely against such a thing."

"We have no intent of harming the girl," the other answered back, shifting into a more comfortable position for attack if necessary. "We only want you to talk to Lord Enma Jr. He swears no harm will come to your host if you give yourself up freely." _What the Hell?_ Yusuke thought, trying to figure out the situation. _What does the brat want with some creepy guy that he didn't send us out to get him? And who are they saying they won't harm? His "host"? Is the guy possessing her or something? What the Hell is going on?_

"Heh," the shadow chuckled. "You're lying. That brat you call your boss is an idiot if he thinks that could possibly be the case. He already knows her soul is lost; if he takes me from her, she'll die. So why don't you just run on back and tell him that, okay little human?"

"I'm sorry, but I have strict orders to bring you back. Dead or alive, that's your choice." The shadow chuckled darkly again, a sinister laugh that chilled Yusuke's spine as much as one of Hiei's infamous glares. "Come at me then, if you dare," it taunted, the voice male and powerful. "I can assure your twig of a sword will have no effect on me."

"We shall see demon!" The Spirit Detective raised his sword and darted in for an attack, but before he reached the darkness, he stopped short and dropped his sword to the ground, silenced by something unknown to Yusuke. "What a pitiful being," the voice sighed, and all of a sudden a sword-shaped shaft of black pierced through the young man's back into the air behind him. The thrust had brought the attacker into the light of the moon, and the sight of him brought Yusuke's breath to a terrified stop. His eyes and hair were as black as the night itself, but didn't reflect the light at all, just sucked in light like black holes. His face showed nothing of compassion to the slain human, only disappointment and a smug air as he ripped the blade of shadows from the body of the still breathing young man and gazed on him with regret.

"A pity," he stated softly. "A few more years and you could have made a challenge to a mediocre fiend from my realm." Without hesitation, he slashed through the young Reikai Tentai's neck, spraying blood on the walls and himself as he decapitated the poor human. "Tell Koenma I refuse his offer unless I can see the one who betrayed me and can return home," he growled, stepping his tall and slender frame back into the darkness and disappearing from Yusuke's sixth sense. But at the moment, Yusuke couldn't bring himself to try and chase him; he could only stare in sickened horror at the body of his fellow Detective until his legs collapsed from beneath him. Slowly, he placed his back against the wall once more and closed his eyes, trying to force the images from his mind as he drew the pocket communicator from his pocket and flipped it open. Opening his brown eyes long enough to press the transmission button to call Koenma, he soon saw the face of the toddler-like godling.

"Yusuke, what are still doing awake?" the toddler on the screen questioned, apparently in the midst of a lot of paperwork. "It's almost three in the morning. You should be sleeping in case I have a mission for you. Don't you have school tomorrow, too?"

"School can wait," Yusuke whispered, still sickened by the sight of such merciless killing. "One of your other detectives is dead, I saw it."

"What? Yusuke, what-"

"Don't ask me to explain, just send Botan to pick me up. I'll tell you when I get there." Before the godling could reply, Yusuke shut the communicator and breathed heavily for a moment, closing his eyes and resting against the wall until his stomach betrayed him and made him empty his dinner onto the sidewalk.

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"I swear that's how it was Koenma," Yusuke pleaded, fear etched in his voice for the first time since Koenma had met him almost two years ago. "The guy in the shadows just drew a sword of pure black out of nowhere and stabbed your detective through the chest, then decapitated him after adding insult to injury, so to speak." Hiei stood in front of Koenma's desk, leaning on it as he stared hard at the distraught teen. He had been there when Yusuke had called only a few moments ago and decided to remain when he heard the details of the attack. He now thought over his own knowledge of who had access to such a blade, one Yusuke claimed was made of pure darkness. As far as he knew, the only living person who could do that was himself, but even he couldn't control the blade for long and many times nearly lost an arm or his head trying to. "Really, you have to believe me," the teen mumbled, falling into a chair with a defeated 'fwhump' and bowing his head in the same fashion.

"I do, Yusuke," Koenma replied softly. "Actually, this has been happening for quite some time now." Yusuke's head snapped up and Hiei glanced over his shoulder at the toddler. "How many?" Hiei asked, cold and aloof as ever. Koenma sighed and replied darkly, "So far, I've lost exactly nine Spirit Detectives, three of my best teams besides you all. I didn't think it would come to asking you four, but it seems I may have to."

"I'm not going after that guy until I know what the Hell I'm dealing with!" Yusuke shouted, sounding on the brink of hysteria. "That guy sliced up the other one in front of me without mercy or warning! Who the heck are we dealing with here Koenma, 'cuz he sure ain't human!"

"No, he's not," Koenma replied, his voice melancholy as it always was when he had bad news. "I can't tell you the details until we can get Kurama and Kazuma here, but I think Hiei knows what we're dealing with as usual." Hiei locked eyes with the godling, his cold ruby ones contrasting with the soft and deep brown gaze of his parole officer. With the look on Koenma's face, Hiei knew his first assumption had been correct; they were not dealing with a living person this time, at least not entirely. In fact, they were dealing with someone who had been dead for nearly three thousand years...

Someone Hiei himself had killed... and betrayed.  
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End Chapter  
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So there you go people. Tell me how you like it, and I'll write more. If you don't tell me anything, I may write the next chappie anywho, but most likely not. So please, review, and I'll try to make the next chapter longer. Ja matta ne! (aka: See ya later!)


	2. Mysterious Girl

Hello everyone. Again, short AN, then right onto the story. Thanks to any who thought to review, you shall be mentioned and replied to at the end of the chapter. And thanks in advance to future reviewers and readers. Have fun!

Chapter 2: Mysterious Girl

_---"My name is Luck; this is my song... I happened by when you were gone... Oh well, I apologize that I could not stay, but I hope that good things swing your way... I know they will; here's your horseshoe... So best of luck to you... From the stable running brave... From the cradle to the grave... This is my day, this is my song! I am alive, what can go wrong? If we're on our way-oh, okay let me know... If we're on our way-oh, okay then; let's go..." Damn Shizuru._ She'd once more gotten a song suck in her brother's head and he fumed about it as he walked down the street by her house. It was about three in the morning, true, but for some reason he just couldn't sleep. He had this nagging feeling that someone needed him out here. A little over six feet tall with tightly curled orange-red hair and brown eyes, Kazuma Kuwabara wandered the streets, going wherever he thought he had to at the moment. Truth be told, he was none to happy about it, but he decided it would be best out of his house and away from his sister.

_---"My name is Hope, Luck just ran out... He said he'd return, without a doubt (ah, but don't you believe it)... Oh I happen to have a message from Love; she told me she knows what you've been dreamin' of... My name is Hope; this is my song... When things go wrong... From the stable running brave... From the cradle to the grave... This is my day, this is my song! I am alive, what can go wrong? If we're on our way-oh, okay let me know... If we're on our way-oh, okay then; let's go..." _At least it made sense why she'd gotten that specific song stuck in his head. He'd always been told by his friends that he was a complete "hopeless romantic" type, probably because he'd fallen for a girl he knew he could never have. He thought about the song as he walked around, gazing at the starry sky, face lit up in the pale light of the half moon. Sighing, he leaned against the wall, still staring distantly at the shining objects of the heavens.

_---"Through the wind-swept countryside... Across the great divide... From the stable running brave... From the cradle to the grave! This is my day, this is my song! As long as I'm alive what can go wrong? If we're on our way-oh, okay let me know... If we're on our way-oh, okay then; let's go..."_ The sound of quiet sobs reached his ears from the next alley over and he looked into it quizzically. As far as he could tell from sight, the alley was empty and shadowed. But he could sense another life force within and the sobs also told him someone hid within those shadows. Cautiously, he crept into the dark alley, calling out quietly, "Hello? Is there anyone here?" The chocked sobs continued as he made his way down the alley, and when he finally came upon the creator of the sound he started in shock; it was a young girl, barely as old as him with black hair and pale skin like the moon, and her ragged and torn clothes were splattered with blood.

---Instinctively, Kazuma reached over and placed his hand on her shoulder, kneeling next to her. "Hey, are you okay?" he asked, shaking her shoulder lightly. When she looked up at him, he could see that her eyes were very dark and red from crying. "Who, who are you?" she asked quietly, her voice scared and timid.

---"My name is Kazuma Kuwabara," he replied, taking off his jacket and wrapping it around her shivering form, even though it was a hot summer night. "I'm here to help you. How'd you get so much blood all over you? Are you hurt?"

---"N-no, I-I..." The young teen drifted off and slumped over, Kazuma barely catching her. _Damn, she's out_ he thought, looking around. _And the hospital is over twenty blocks away. I guess I'll have to take her back to my house... I know! I'll call up Kurama and have him come by and patch her up!_ Firmly intent on his new resolution, he scooped up the girl's limp form, surprised at how light she was, and took off towards his house only five blocks down. _Don't worry kid_ he thought, smiling to himself. _No girl dies on Kazuma Kuwabara's watch!_

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---At the Minamino residence, all was quiet and dark. Suiichi's mother had gone to sleep hours before he had, and the fox youkai himself had only been asleep for an hour before he was rather rudely awakened by his cellular phone. The cheery Irish music of _"Lord Redfern's Return"_ jingled as he pushed himself up onto his forearms and blinked to clear the blurriness ensued via lack of sleep. As the song continued to chime, he reached a slender right hand over to it and pressed the "Talk" button on the phone. Glancing at his clock, he groaned as he realized that Yusuke had left his house only an hour and a half ago, and (still disoriented and discontented) he put the phone to his ear and muttered out groggily, "'Ello Kazuma. What is it that couldn't... wait 'till morning?" Halfway through his sentence he'd had to stifle a yawn, but Kuwabara's voice came through the connection easily, as he seemed not to notice.

---"Sorry, I woke you up, didn't I?" he asked timidly. Kurama sighed as he pushed himself into a sitting position and muttered, "Yes actually, but that's not the point. Why did you call me at a quarter to four in the morning?"

---"Well, I kinda need your help." Kurama rolled his eyes. Hopefully _this_ ningen didn't need help with his homework, too. He'd had enough of that for one night, thankyouverymuch. "With what exactly Kazuma?" he asked tiredly. "I have work tomorrow, and if I fall asleep on the job..."

---"I found a girl in the alley by my house," the other boy explained quickly. "She was sobbing and covered in blood. My sis is washing her up now and getting her clean clothes, but with that much blood, she's probably seriously injured." Confused but now interested, Kurama leaned forward, resting his upper body on his arms, which in turn rested on his knees. "Why didn't you take her to the hospital?" he asked. "They have much more extensive training than I do."

---"Yeah, but I got the feeling she isn't fully human." Kurama paused, thinking this over. When the other boy said his name to make sure he was still on the line, he replied quickly (although still exhausted), "I'll be there as soon as I can." He hung up the phone and stood, grabbing the shirt he'd thrown over his chair before falling into bed an hour-and-a-half ago and snagged his jacket and backpack as he left his plant-filled room. Slipping tennis shoes on his feet (which had amazingly kept their socks upon them), he walked out of his house, locked the door, then bolted as fast as he could in his still-waking state to his ningen friend's home.

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---Kurama knocked at the door about ten minutes later, breathing heavily after running so far so fast. He tried to look presentable as the door opened and portrayed his six-foot tall friend in the frame. "You made it," Kuwabara said, smiling slightly. "Right on time, too. Shizuru's got her in her room resting." Kurama only nodded tiredly and stepped in, slipping his shoes off at the door before walking down the hall silently. _Creepy as always_ Kuwabara thought, shaking his head and closing the door before following the kitsune down the hall.

---By the time he'd entered the room, Kurama had already started looking over the girl with Shizuru outside on the balcony, smoking again. Kuwabara walked over closer and kneeled next to Kurama as the kitsune shook his head tiredly. "What? Is she badly hurt?" Kazuma asked. Again, Kurama shook his head. "On the contrary, she's perfectly fine," he muttered, standing up again. "I can find no physical injury on her body."

---"That's impossible!" Kazuma exclaimed in hushed tones. "She was covered with blood! Where could all that blood have come from?"

---"Perhaps it was not her own," Kurama replied in exasperation, now starting to get irritable from lack of sleep. He left the room and began walking to the door again as Kuwabara came out behind him, sliding slightly on the wood floor. "Where are you going?" the other boy asked, catching up with Kurama after a few seconds.

---"Home!" Kurama snapped, turning and glaring at the ningen, who stopped and gave the kitsune a wary look. "I have not slept for a very long while and it is four in the morning on the night before I need to go to work! Please, let me go home and sleep!" He glared at Kazuma for a second more before he realized what he had said and sighed again, looking away at the floor. "I'm sorry Kazuma-san. I'm tired, that's all. I shouldn't take it out on you."

---"It's... okay," Kuwabara said quietly. "Go ahead and crash here tonight. I don't think I'd want to see the next guy to keep you awake tonight." Kurama nodded and slid his backpack to the floor by the blue couch, falling onto it after a few seconds. He was out before he even touched the cushions. Kazuma let out the breath he had been holding, once more remembering why he usually chose not to cross the kitsune; Kurama was rather frightening when angry. _Or lacking of sleep_ he added mentally, looking down at the sleeping boy on his couch. Oddly enough, it seemed that the two best fighters and only youkai of their Reikai Tentai team looked so much more innocent while they were asleep. Considering one of them was a renowned thief and the other a famed assassin, that was not something that could be easily accomplished or predicted.

---Calmly, he pulled a spare blanket out of the closet and draped it over Kurama's sleeping form, causing the kitsune to curl up much like a fox would under the thick cotton. Turning his attention back to the matter at hand, Kazuma walked back into his sister's room to take watch over the girl. Pulling up a chair and sitting down in it backwards, he rested his head on his arms and watched for any sign of her waking up as his sister came back inside and told him as she walked out of the room that she was stealing his bed for the night. He ignored her, as he knew he'd be staying up anyway, and (as they so often do) that infernal American song came to his head again. Groaning in exasperation, he tapped his forehead against the back of the chair.

---This was going to be a long night.

End Chapter

Now that the chapter's over, it's onto the reviewer response!

Kajihenge Yoko - Why thank you, I think it is too. And I'm glad you like it; so do Tren and I. --smiles--

Done! Now, please tell me how you like it if you want. Otherwise, just tell Trenity170 to get off her butt and rewrite _Twilight_ already! It's ticking me off Tren! Buh-bye y'all! --smiles--


	3. Knowledge Shared

Hello! I know, it's been ages since I wrote the last chapter of this story, but I have to update it, like, **now**. Why? Because if I don't, I'll be thinking about it for weeks _and_ I'll have rabid reviewers on my back even more than I do now. So, as my normal saying goes, ON WIT' THE FIC!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my twisted little mind.

Chapter 3: Knowledge Shared

---As much as Hiei hated him, he couldn't help but feel concerned about Yusuke. While Hiei himself may have been a merciless killer in the past with a strong stomach for dishonorable death, Yusuke had never seen the likes of it before he became a Spirit Detective. Cautiously, he took a quick glance at the human seated next to him, only a faint flicker of his worry breaking through his normal mask of stoicism.

---To say the least, Yusuke looked shaken and scared. Although he had not had any physical signs of a mental breakdown yet, the hi-youkai could detect that he wasn't that far from it either. As Koenma hung up the phone, Hiei glanced over his shoulder at the godling. Meeting the demon's gaze for a moment, he turned his tawny eyes to his battered detective. "Kazuma said that he's ready to come down, but Kurama can't be here until morning," he said slowly, watching Yusuke closely as the human's head jerked up at the first sound of his voice.

---"Why? What's up with Kurama?" Yusuke asked, seeming slightly suspicious. If it weren't such a serious situation, Hiei may have laughed at it. Right now, he simply understood; Yusuke was probably worried that Kurama either didn't care or had been killed by this unnerving assassin.

---Koenma also seemed to read this and continued cautiously. "He's sleeping over at Kuwabara's house and Kuwabara has reason to believe it would be best not to wake him up." At this, Yusuke looked confused. "But... I was studying over at Kurama's house before... before I came here," he said. "Why's he over at Kuwabara's place?"

---"Apparently Kazuma found a girl in need of medical attention and had reason to believe she wasn't human," Koenma replied carefully. Hiei inwardly groaned; there went the nitwit's chivalrous nature again. It was going to get him killed some day. "He suggested that the three of us go to his house and discuss things there," the godling concluded. "It may help to be in a familiar environment while I tell you about this, Yusuke." The human searched Koenma's eyes hard, then lowered his eyes and nodded. When he stood, both Hiei and Koenma could tell that he was straining not to collapse again, whether from exhaustion or weakness neither could tell accurately. "Right, let's go then," he murmured, heading for the door. He left Koenma and Hiei standing there, both worrying in their own ways about him.

---"Hiei." The fire youkai turned his head to glance at the Junior Lord of the Dead. "...Is there any possibility this might be..." Koenma trailed off, unwilling to believe that this might indeed be the person he feared it was. Hiei hesitated in replying, trying to find a way to confirm his own suspicions without alarming the godling. Finding no way to do so, he simply walked out, catching up with Yusuke in the hallway.

---Koenma sighed and shook his head, taking on his Ningenkai appearance with navy jeans, a white turtleneck, and a red sports jacket. Gazing forlornly after his detectives as he left his office, he hoped to any god that this wasn't who he'd feared.

---Because if it was, they stood no chance at all.

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_---"Holiday quiet on these streets, except for some stubborn leaves that didn't fall with the fall, and now they clatter in vain." _The song popped into Hiei's head as if placed there by magic. It was one of Yusuke's favorite bands; he knew because the human had walked into every meeting for the past two months listening to the American singers on his CD player. It fit right now, though, this song; the skies were clear and dark, making it easy to see the stars shining above in all their glory. While the leaves were still firmly attached to their respective branches, it was instead petals from the sakura blossoms that played like snow in the wind. How odd, he thought absently, that a song would be playing itself in his head right now. Considering the situation, of course.

---"_Holiday skies, midnight clear, wind is high, hard to steer, old muffler rumbles like an old fighter plane in search of some rest, in search of a break from a life of tests where something's always at stake…"_ That part was true as well; the wind whipped abut the two dark haired Detectives and the Junior Lord of the Dead, not affecting two but biting deeply into the soul of the other. Hiei could see it on his face, though because he knew that Yusuke was trying to hide it, he said nothing. A car drove by, one of the only vehicles seen all night, its engine growling darkly like an underfed tiger. Hiei almost smiled; this song was an odd one. Why had he thought of it? Perhaps it had something to do with that line… a life of tests where something's always at stake… that was their lives, after all…

---"_Where something's always so far. What about my broken car? What about my life so far? What about my dream, what about…? What about everything? What about aero planes and what about ships that drank the sea? What about… What about the moon and stars? What about soldier battle scars and all the anger that they eat? I am not in need…"_ It was strange, but this song, written by someone over three thousand miles away, fit their lives with a startling clarity. It never bothered Hiei to be so detached from the others. It was a necessity for him. Yusuke and the others _needed_ each other, to laugh with and to fight with. With him, it was different; the scars on his heart constantly reminded him of what happened when people got too close. It was one of the reasons for him staying away from them, staying away from anyone he cared for at all. Many of the questions in the song he'd asked of himself, trying to find reasons to keep going when all he wanted was to finish what he started.

---"_Get away and come with me. Come away with me and we'll see if I was right on that night that a future was made. Before time takes each year, like a knife cuts it clear, it's school, then work, and then life; that just sharpens the blade. I think about time for fun, I think about time for play, then I think about bein' done with no resume…"_ He'd said that only a few times in his life, and regretted it soon after. It was right, though; this song had pegged the meaning of life when so many people had tried to figure it out by themselves. All that was here was to live and learn; to sharpen the blade that is your soul. Whether you use it to kill or protect… Hiei shook his head trying to clear the stray thoughts as they continued through the city to the park. Common knowledge to all the Detectives was that through the small forest was the only fast way to get from one house to another, as they all lived pretty widespread in the city. Glancing up at the sky, he thought again about the song that was now starting to irritate him for its persistence.

---"_With no one left to blame, what about fortune and fame? What about your love to obtain? What about the ring, what about…? What about everything, what about aero planes and what about ships that drank the sea? What about… What about the moon and stars? What about soldier battle scars and all the anger that they eat? I am not in need?"_ Why was this little tune being so persistent? What did it want him to say; that everything was going to be fine and that they'd be able to catch this killer before he decides to go after them? Hiei was never the comforting sort and was not going to start now. They'd all had their own hardships, him more than most, and they had to deal with the fact that sometimes there was just nothing you could do. He didn't need them to comfort him, and he never wanted it. He couldn't understand how it was that Yusuke could fall apart over something like this. Both of them have seen worse than an execution and had fought back against it hard and fast. Every time, it'd be the same thing. Why did Yusuke treat this differently?

---"_Holiday quiet on these streets, except, for some reason, me. The hometown harbor light's bright; the sailboats clatter in vain. Holiday quiet, midnight clear, wind is high on this pier."_ The song was slightly off this time; though they could smell the sea on the wind that threatened to steal their warm breath from their bodies, the docks were miles outside of the city. But the wind picked up an even fiercer gale as they left the wooded enclave, snapping Hiei's cloak around behind him and revealing the hilt of the sword he carried on his back. Also, Hiei was never anything _but_ quiet. Glancing up at Yusuke again, he noticed the almost lost look in the human's eyes, one he'd seen so many times before. This time, like many of the times before, he could not help him, no matter how tempting. The best help would simply be to let him alone and have him deal with it for himself. Looking away once again, it seemed to Hiei like he was forcing Yusuke to live the life he'd had himself. Well, it'd be good for him to learn to deal with things he couldn't change.

---"_I find it hard to complain when compared with what about…What about everything? What about aero planes and what about ships that drank the sea? What about… what about the moon and stars? What about soldier battle scars and all the anger that they eat? What about… what about aliens? What about you and me, and what about gold beneath the sea? What about… what about when buildings fall? What about that midnight phone call, the one that wakes you from your peace? Well I am not, **I** am not, I am not in need."_ Hiei nearly sighed in relief as the song finally left his mind, giving him more room to think about the situation. He wouldn't be able to tell them much; it'd been a long time since he'd fought this particular enemy. Despite this, Hiei doubted the bastard's tactics, or motives, changed much.

---He looked up as Yusuke stopped, halting directly behind him and Koenma and glancing at what the two teenagers were looking at. It was Kuwabara's apartment, lights on and obviously with someone home, as they could see Shizuru out on the balcony smoking. The wind subsided to a mild breeze, and Hiei shifted his eyes to Yusuke once more, noticing that though the gales had stopped, the human's slight tremors hadn't. Narrowing his eyes in annoyance, Hiei walked past him, startling Yusuke into following him up the stairs to the apartment.

---Kuwabara had been nowhere near sleep when he heard the door open. Mentally cursing at forgetting to lock the door, he stood from his chair, stretched his long legs, and walked out to see who'd entered… though, his _rei kan_ told him instantly who it was. "Hey guys," he said quietly, walking up to them as quietly as he could. "Kurama's asleep on the couch, so we can talk in my room." The three other boys nodded and Kazuma glanced them both over quickly before leading them off to his room.

---It was the same as it'd always been; a bed in one corner, a desk in another, a bookcase along the wall (lined with his school books, mangas, and various other bits of reading material), and a single poster adorning the wall by his closet, for the World Championship Fighting Tournament. Kuwabara pulled the chair out from the desk, spun it around so it faced him, and sat with his back to the bookshelf, motioning for Hiei, Koenma, and Yusuke to take a seat anywhere. The human sat gratefully on the edge of the bed, while the demon kept his placid expression and leaned against the desk in front of the window and the demigod stood by the closet. "So shoot Koenma," Kazuma said. "What's going on? You didn't tell me much over the phone."

---"I think it may be best for Yusuke to tell you what he saw first," Koenma answered slowly, glancing at the human on the bed.

---Yusuke was quiet for a moment, staring at the floor as if he didn't know where to start. Before either of his friends or his employer could prompt him, however, he began to retell the story with the detail of a real investigator and the flat, emotionless tone of someone who'd rather not be reliving it. By the time he'd finished, he hadn't looked up at either of them once, and Kuwabara was stunned. There was someone killing off Spirit Detectives and Koenma wanted the four of them, the newest group of Detectives, to go after him? It didn't make a whole lot of sense, considering that Yusuke was in no shape to go anywhere yet.

---"So, why'd you guys come down here instead of waiting 'till Kurama woke up and sending for us?" he asked cautiously, trying feign stoicism like Hiei so often did. The master, however, noticed the apprentice's underlying question and tone, the one that spoke volumes by not being spoken: _Why did you put Yusuke on this case, Koenma?_

---Truthfully, Hiei wondered the same thing. Yusuke may understand what they're dealing with, but he was in no condition to fight. Physically, perhaps, but his mental state was bordering on shattered. Kuwabara would never be able to take on this threat; there was no way the human was strong enough, physically _or_ emotionally, which left him on a state almost as bad as his friend's. Kurama… the kitsune was a different story Hiei did not want to try and press. He would most certainly be strong enough as a demon, but his human heart was subject to the ruthlessness of their adversary. He was so in thought, he didn't realize that Kazuma had asked another question and Koenma had answered.

---"Do you know who we're dealing with, Koenma?"

---"…Not entirely. I never knew the man. But I believe that Hiei knows exactly who he is and how we may be able to defeat him."

---Hiei looked over at the others when he realized that they were looking at him; Yusuke's brown eyes calm and impassive on the surface with inner turmoil, Kazuma's blue ones reflecting his worry easily while hiding his calmness and calculation, and Koenma's remaining gentle yet firm in their prompting. When they realized it seemed he hadn't heard the question, Kazuma repeated it. "Koenma said that you know about this guy, Hiei. Have you met him before or something?"

---"Yes," he answered, trying to hold back the bitterness of the memory. "I've met him and fought him. He's been dead for a while now, though." He did not tell them exactly what plagued him about this, but he didn't need to as another voice spoke.

---"Well, it appears that he's back." The voice came from the door, and all of them looked over to see Kurama, seeming amazingly disheveled and tired. His eyes told them differently, that he was listening intently and wide awake, as they glittered like a pair of gems in the light. "Who exactly are we dealing with, Hiei?" he said calmly, flicking his eyes to the demigod before resting once again on his much shorter friend. Though it sounded like a question, it seemed more like a demand from its sharp undertone.

---"…" Hiei hesitated, not wishing to expose them more than he had to. Deciding on his words carefully, he spoke briefly and stoically, wishing to keep them as detached from this as he needed to be.

---"His name is Daren, or **was** when he was alive. He was what's known as a fiend, a creature that is not a human, demon, angel, or spirit. Humans commonly refer to them as devils, creatures of utter darkness and evil. He lived, and ruled, in a realm of these creatures, known as Yamikai, or the Dark Realm." Hiei paused, as he knew that at least one person-

---"There's a whole realm of people like him?"

--- -had a question. Turning his crimson gaze to Kazuma, he nodded once, but it was enough. The human paled slightly, then looked to Yusuke, Koenma, and Kurama to see their reactions. Yusuke remained the same; completely impassive, and Koenma did not seem at all surprised by Hiei's declaration. Kurama, however, had that look of calculation and concern that he wore oddly well on his young face. It seemed that the information, however brief, was enough to concern him. "What else can you tell us?" he asked slowly, as if trying to sort the information carefully as he sought more to make the conjecture complete.

---"…Very little that you need to know." Kurama looked up at him sharply, eyes glinting like daggers in the light. "What we need to know, or what _you_ think we need to know?" he asked, trying to draw a reaction out of Hiei.

---To put it simply, it worked.

---Hiei glared darkly at the kitsune, his own phantasmal eyes flashing darkly in anger. Though his face did not set any different than before, the four other boys could see the shadow cross his features. "I know what you need to know," he murmured, his voice so low it seemed almost a growl of a dangerous animal. "And you only need to know what I've told you. Anything else will get you killed."

---"We're dead anyway, so why don't you tell us to humor us?" The response startled everyone, as it had not come from Kurama, but Yusuke. He'd maintained silence throughout Hiei's calm explanation, but now looked up at the youkai with both vengeful and fearful eyes. "After all, if he's that strong, who's going to say that we won't take whatever secrets he has to our graves," he mused darkly, not noticing how the others were staring at him. Hiei seemed to wrestle with the idea for a moment, glancing away so not to see the look in the younger Detective's eyes. After a moment, though, the idea won and he sighed in exasperation, running a hand irritably though his hair. "Fine," he grumbled darkly. "Where do you want me to start, _Detective_?" He nearly spat the word out in his irritation.

---"At the beginning. How'd you meet him and why do you know so much about him?"

---"…I met him in the Dark Realm. I had been hired to kill someone there, and he saw my work. I worked with him for over three hundred years as his second in command and battle tactician."

---"That explains a bit, but not enough," Kurama pushed. "Why did you kill him?"

---"…" That question was not so easily answered, mainly because Hiei didn't know how exactly _Kurama_ knew he'd killed Daren. Hiei had to think hard before replying so that he wouldn't give too much away. "He went insane and tried to kill me. I simply retaliated in kind."

---"What exactly _is_ the Dark Realm?" The question came from Kazuma, and once he asked it, it seemed like the first question they _should_ have asked.

---"A world of eternal darkness and evil." Koenma replied to this question, his tone dropping bitterly as he remembered it from the sole time he was forced to visit it. "It feeds off of your fears and turns them into ideas for others on how torment and kill one another. Humans who go rarely survive, angels cannot enter for the sake of their sanity and purity, and demons… often lose any control they once had. Bloodlust runs rampant, and one ruler holds a hand over them all."

---"Though, since that ruler has been dead for the past three thousand years-" Hiei continued on Koenma's track, but was suddenly interrupted.

---"Three thousand years?" Kazuma exclaimed, staring at him in disbelief. Hiei, however, continued as if there had been no interruption. "-And the regency died off one hundred years ago, there has only been a ten-year monitoring of the Realm to make sure it doesn't go out of control and try to take over any of the other realms." The silence that greeted his words he welcomed, as it gave him time to prepare for any further questions.

---"…How do we stop him?" Yusuke asked slowly, still trying to process everything clearly. Hiei looked at the Detective hard, trying to see behind the mask of detachment he'd covered his face with. He saw the same he had before; fear and retribution. Breaking the eye contact, he glanced among the others; from Kazuma's topaz tones to Kurama's forest shade to the golden-tawny hues of Koenma. When Koenma shook his head solemnly, Hiei looked back to Yusuke.

---"We can't," he replied softly. "At least, not yet."

---"Why not?" Kuwabara exclaimed, tensing as if he were going to jump up from his chair.

---"There's a new wrinkle in the problem that was not there three thousand years ago," Hiei growled in response, detesting the lack of faith the ningen had in him.

---"And that would be?" Kurama asked, maintaining calm so another fight would not erupt between the two extremes of their group.

---"…There's an innocent involved this time," Koenma answered softly. Everyone looked to him as he began his own explanation.

---"According to various reports made by the other Reikai Tentai before they were… killed in action, Daren has his original form. However, his aura is not at the strength that it used to be, nor is it any longer pure fiend. In fact, right now it is mostly human."

---"So he's taken a host body," Kurama confirmed, watching the demigod as he nodded solemnly. "That matches with Yusuke's account of what he said."

---"Yes. I knew that he had a host, a young girl about your age, Kuwabara," he motioned to the human boy in the chair, "but I do not know exactly who she is or what she looks like."

---"So we're in the dark about who she is," Yusuke mused. "But if she _is_ Daren's reincarnation, doesn't that make her aware of what she's doing?" Koenma shook his head, startling **all** of the Detectives before him.

---"She's an innocent, as I said. She wants nothing to do with what he's doing as far as we can tell."

---"They're two separate entities?" Kurama asked, surprise flashing across his young features.

---"Not entirely. But they do have a separate consciousness each."

---"What do you mean by that?" Kazuma asked. Hiei was also curious, though he would never admit to agreeing with Kuwabara.

---"…His soul and hers partially fused while she was still in a fetal state," Koenma explained slowly. Before he could explain further, the pocket communicator in his pocket rang with an oddly cheery jingle. Pulling it out and opening it with a casual flick of his wrist, he questioned the screen. "What is it?"

---"Ah, Koenma-sir," came Botan's slightly timid voice. "We have a bit of a situation down here…"

---"I'll be right there." Flicking the communicator closed, Koenma looked back up at his Detectives, each holding his gaze steadily as he set it upon them. Without any explanation, he "bwinked" out of the room. For a moment, there was silence as the Detectives contemplated the information they'd either given or received.

---Then, Shizuru entered the room. "Kazu, your pet's woken up," she stated, "and she's wondering where she is."

End Chapter

Okay! Reviewer responses are here! Note, this will be the last chapter I will be doing them because I will either thank you in person (if I know you) or I'll give you a Reviewer Reply (if you are an writer).

codenametatsu – Thanks. I hope you enjoy this chapter. --smiles--

Brenda – Again, thanks. I promised you I'd put it up before Friday! --grins--

Review please! The next chapter will be up… eventually…


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